Revisiting the journal club

Recent descriptions of journal clubs identify their purpose as reading current medical literature, critically appraising it for validity and applicability to the readers' patient population, and distilling the best available clinical evidence. A clinical problem or question from practice within a discipline is identified, and relevant literature is selected and critically appraised. The process addresses the first tenet of evidence-based medicine; that is, gathering the best evidence from research data, but there is little information about when and how the second and third tenets (namely, incorporating individual clinician's expertise and individual patient's perspective) are addressed.

The study aim was to explore the value, for physician-learners, of reading physician-authored books within the context of an ongoing conversation group. This paper draws on the results of a year-long study with a group of medical students, residents, and novice physicians who read physician-authored books about their practice areas and subsequently met in a conversation group.

The study process facilitated learning around two neglected tenets of evidence-based medicine: the integration of clinical expertise, and incorporating patients' perspectives into clinical decision-making. It also fulfilled an earlier purpose of journal clubs, namely the fostering of collegiality and the development of professional identity in physicians.

This study shows the value of reading a type of medical literature that is different, but complementary, to the kind read in contemporary journal clubs.